Sixteen players began their road to Hanoi inside the Subic Gymnasium on Wednesday.
Answering the call of the Philippine National Volleyball Federation tryouts for the women’s volleyball team was Jaja Santiago.
Santiago is the most successful Filipina with the championship she earned with Ageo Medics in the Japan V.League’s V.Cup.
Joining her are 2019 Southeast Asian Games veterans Aby Maraño, Majoy Baron, Mylene Paat, and Eya Laure in the tryouts supervised by women’s head coach Odjie Mamon.
Pros Iris Tolenada, Ria Meneses, and Dell Palomata were also on-hand, along with student-athletes Kamille Cal, Mhicaela Belen, Ivy Lacsina, Alyssa Solomon, Jennifer Nierva, Faith Nisperos, Imee Hernandez, and Bernadette Pepito.
MJ Phillips couldn’t join the tryouts as she was forced to go into quarantine after a Sta. Lucia staff member tested positive for Covid-19 only the other day.
Santiago and teammates Laure and Paat were clad in their red PPE-like Chery Tiggo practice uniforms as they gamely participated in skills tests at the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority facility.
The participants immediately returned to Manila after the exercise onboard quarantined buses.
PNVF president Tats Suzara gives a message to the 16 aspirants—a mix of veterans and promising collegiate players—answering the whistle in the PNVF tryouts for the national women’s volleyball team at the Subic Gym on Wednesday
“The federation puts the health and safety of the participants in equal footing with our goal of forming the national teams as soon as possible,” PNVF president Tats Suzara, adding the teams will be fielded in the Hanoi SEA Games in November and possible in the Asian Women’s Championship in August
The Philippines’ participation in the AVC Women’s Championship will depend on whether the hosting chores will be given to the country.
The men’s volleyball tryouts are scheduled on Thursday and the beach volleyball tryouts are set on Friday.
